Modern wireless communication systems are typically designed to detect and successfully receive data from both near and distant clients. Because the signals received from distant clients are often weak, these systems may include an amplifier (such as a low-noise amplifier) designed to boost weak signals to a desirable level for processing by a receiver. In addition, because a low-noise amplifier may boost strong signals received from nearby clients to an unacceptably high level, these systems may also attempt to bypass or turn off this low-noise amplifier when strong signals from nearby clients are received in order to avoid saturating the receiver.
Unfortunately, traditional approaches to bypassing or turning off low-noise amplifiers often suffer from a variety of drawbacks and deficiencies. For example, the switching components required to bypass a low-noise amplifier (whether external to or integrated within the low-noise amplifier) may, especially when combined with a transmit-receive switch (such as those used in a time-division duplexing (TDD) system), significantly increase the noise figure of the low-noise amplifier and/or contribute to the overall noise figure of the system. The amount of attenuation provided by these switching components (relative to the gain of the low-noise amplifier) is also typically fixed and not customizable. In addition, because the amount of attenuation provided by a low-noise amplifier in its off-state is typically determined by its inherent off-state parasitics, the amount of attenuation achieved (relative to the gain of the low-noise amplifier) by placing the low-noise amplifier in its off-state is also typically fixed and not customizable.
Because the traditional approaches outlined above may compromise the overall noise figure of the system and/or only offer fixed attenuation, these approaches may prevent wireless communications systems from achieving desired communication-link margins and/or quality. The instant disclosure, therefore, identifies a need for an improved apparatus, system, and method for bypassing amplifiers (such as low-noise amplifiers) that amplify signals received by wireless communication systems.